When an Issaquah Police officer tried to stop a vehicle for a traffic infraction early March 15, the driver instead sped off, slammed into three parked cars and ultimately caught on fire.

At about 12:45 a.m., in the 1400 block of Northwest Sammamish Road, an officer signaled for the driver to pull over. The driver responded by turning the vehicle’s headlights off and accelerating eastbound.

An Eastside Fire & Rescue firefighter inspects the scene after flames were extinguished on a burning vehicle in the predawn hours March 15, in the 4700 block of West Lake Sammamish Parkway Southeast. Photo by Jonathan Wiseman

The officer did not pursue the vehicle but checked the surrounding area. Upon investigation, three parked cars were found struck in the 4700 block of West Lake Sammamish Parkway Southeast and, according to a police department release, “the driver’s vehicle was fully engulfed in flames.”

Police received a report March 14 about a woman holding two rifles walking down Newport Way near Issaquah Valley Elementary School.

In response, the school issued a lockdown at about 12:10 p.m., until authorities investigated.

Cmdr. Stan Conrad, with the Issaquah Police Department, said an officer was dispatched to the area but failed to find anyone matching the woman’s description. This afternoon, a sergeant was in the process of interviewing the individual who alerted police.

Extra law enforcement will be on the roads looking for impaired drivers in King, Pierce and Snohomish counties over St. Patrick’s Day weekend, March 15-17.

“Don’t press your luck this weekend. Make sure you and your friends get home safely,” Dr. David Fleming, Director and Health Officer for Public Health – Seattle & King County said in a statement. “If you plan to drink, designate a sober driver, ride the bus or take a cab.”

The Issaquah Press will relocate its offices March 20, leaving historic downtown for more efficient office and warehouse space in Cascade Business Park, one block east of the transit center.

The newspaper office has been in the same location on Front Street for about 85 years. Its current building was built 25 years ago when the former building was demolished. The Press does not own the building.

“Our needs have changed,” Publisher Debbie Berto explained. “We just don’t need as much space. We no longer need dozens of file cabinets, or the darkroom, or four bathrooms. And the downtown location is not as important now that walk-in customers are rare, not like the days when readers hand-carried in their wedding photos and advertisers came in to pay bills.”

When Redmond resident Paul Weston crashed his experimental plane in Lake Sammamish on March 4, there was a bit of déjà vu.

Weston, who was not seriously injured, had crashed the same plane in about the same spot in the lake in June 2009.

By Ari CetronPaul Weston shakes the water out of his plane’s wing after it was moved back onto land. He crashed the plane into Lake Sammamish on March 4.

This time, the problem was the weather. Weston was drawn out by a sunny day in March, but conditions were still windy. The float plane — it has no landing gear and can only take off from and land on water — was unable to achieve liftoff due to the water conditions, Weston said.

Issaquah’s 5th District Republican representatives split on a recent vote of a controversial bill.

The Reproductive Parity Act passed the state House of Representatives March 1, mostly along party lines, with a vote of 53-43. Its language would require health insurance providers who cover live births to cover abortions. With those in favor wanting to protect the coverage of pro-choice options and those opposed attempting to protect a provider’s core values, 5th District representatives Chad Magendanz and Jay Rodne played interesting roles.

Magendanz, of Issaquah, was the only Republican in the majority of voters. He took a fiscal view of the bill that separated him from his party.

What do Taylor Swift, Venus Williams and Sandra Day O’Connor have in common? All are wildly successful in their various fields and they donned Girl Scouts uniforms when they were young.

Girl Scouts, which celebrated its 100th anniversary last year, has had a tremendous impact on culture — particularly when it comes to helping girls find their voice, develop the confidence to pursue their goals and challenge themselves in ways that, even just a few decades ago, were still rather revolutionary, Stefanie Ellis, public relations director of Girl Scouts of Western Washington, said.

Photos by Greg FarrarAbove, Issaquah attorney Mary Hammerly keeps a banner with her merit badge sash from the late 1960s, when she grew up in Wisconsin and earned the First Class Award.

“We want girls to feel better about themselves and their future … to be motivated by the fact that women are truly changing the world,” she said. “We want people to know, especially girls, that more than 80 percent of female senior executives and business owners were Girl Scouts, as well as two-thirds of the women in Congress and virtually every female astronaut.”

Issaquah has a couple of famous former Girls Scouts as well, including Mayor Ava Frisinger.